CHICAGO VOLUME 32 NUMBER 1 NATURAL HISTORY MUSEU ftu/letin JANUARY 1961 CHINESE CALENDAR SCREEN — story on back page MUSEUM NEWS Award Nature Photo Contest Entries to the 16th Chicago Interna- tional Exhibition of Nature Photography, to be held in the Museum February 5- 25, 1961, must be submitted not later than January 16 to qualify for exhibi- tion, according to contest officials. The exhibition will be composed of two divisions, prints and transparencies, and no more than four entries may be submitted in either category. Subject matter of the photographs may be ani- mal life, plant life, or any other natural history subject such as clouds, land- scapes, ancient ruins, etc. Winners in the various print and slide classifications will be awarded silver med- als and ribbons, with the medal winners also receiving the Museum Bulletin free for a year. Names of winners will be inscribed on the Myrtle R. Wal- green plaque on display in the Museum. Projection of the accepted slides will take place on February 5 and 12, Sun- days, at 2:30 p.m. in the James Simpson Theatre. The international photography exhi- bition is sponsored jointly by the Mu- seum and the Chicago Nature Camera Club. Members of the Museum staff who will act as judges in the exhibition are John R. Millar, Chief Curator of Botany, and Dr. C. Earle Smith, Jr., botanist and photographer. Page 2 Director Clifford C. Gregg accepting, in behalf of the Museum, the 4-H Club "Donor Merit Award" for the Museum's "40 years' support of 4-H Club work through the National 4-H Club Congress" from Chris L. Christensen, President, National 4-H Service Com- mittee. Since 1920 the Muse- um has organized special Museum tours for 4-H Club delegates visiting Chicago during the International Live- stock Exposition. The cita- tion was presented at a luncheon held in the Conrad Hilton Hotel on December 6. New Board Member At the December meeting of the Board of Trustees, Mr. J. Howard Wood was elected a Corporate Member and a member of the Board. Mr. Wood, President of the Chicago Tribune Company, is well known in Chi- cago both in business and civic circles. Chamber Music Concert The world premiere of a new compo- sition for string quartet and piano by Willard Straight, young American com- poser, conductor, and pianist, will high- light Free Concerts Foundation's third program in the 1960-61 concert series in James Simpson Theatre, Wednesday, January 11, 8:30 p.m. Straight will play the piano part in his new quintet, which was commissioned by Mrs. J. Dennis Freund especially for the Foundation's second concert season. Joining him, will be the Festival String Quartet : Sid- ney and Teresa Testa Harth, violins; Rolf Persinger, viola; and Robert La- Marchina, cello. The program will also include the Ravel Sonata for violin and cello and Kodaly's String Quartet Number 2. Tickets to the January 1 1 free concert may be obtained by sending a self- addressed, stamped envelope to Free Concerts Foundation, Chicago Natural History Museum. The next free concert Chicago Natural History Museum Founded by Marshall Field, 1893 Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 5 Telephone: WAbash 2-9410 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Lester Armour William V. Kahler Wm. McCormick Blair Hughston M. McBain Walther Buchen J. Roscoe Miller Walter J. Cummings William H. Mitchell Joseph N. Field John T. I'ikie, Jr. Marshall Field, Jr. Clarence B. Randall Stanley Field John G. Searle Samuel Insull, Jr. Solomon A. Smith Henry P. Isham Louis Ware J. Howard Wood OFFICERS Stanley Field President Hughston M. McBain First Vice-President Walther Buchen Second Vice-President Joseph N. Field Third Vice-President Solomon A. Smith Treasurer Clifford C Gregg Director and Secretary E. Leland Webber Assistant Secretary THE BULLETIN EDITOR Clifford C Gregg Director of the Museum CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Paul S. Martin Chief Curator of Anthropology John R. Millar Chief Curator of Botany Sharat K. Roy Chief Curator of Geology Austin L. Rand Chief Curator of Zoology MANAGING EDITOR Paula R. Nelson Public Relations Counsel ASSOCIATE EDITOR Marilyn Jindrich Associate m Public Relations Members are requested to inform the Museum promptly of changes of address. will be on Friday, February 3. (Tickets will be available after the January con- cert.) From the Library- Ornithologists and bird fanciers are in- formed that there is now available in the Museum's third floor scientific library a copy of Birds of North Carolina from the North Carolina State Museum. The volume, by T. Gilbert Pearson, C. S. Brimley, and H. H. Brimley, gives the story of every bird known from North Carolina — including introduced species such as the starling and the English sparrow, and the extinct paroquet, pas- senger pigeon, and ivory-billed wood- pecker. The birds are arranged and described according to the latest Amer- ican Ornithological Union Check-List. Habits, ranges, songs, calls, and the identifying marks are clearly presented, with 47 illustrations (24 in color) pro- viding further identification. The book also contains a history of bird studies made in North Carolina, beginning with the year 1584, plus a comprehensive in- dex and bibliography. Staff Promotions The following promotions in the scien- tific staff of the Museum are announced effective January 1, 1961 : Phillip Lewis from Associate Curator of Primitive Art to Curator of Primitive Art. Dr. John B. Rinaldo from Assistant Cura- tor in Archaeology to Associate Curator of Archaeology. Dr. Louis 0. Williams from Associate Cu- rator of Central American Botany to Curator of Central American Botany. Dr. Edward Olsen from Associate Curator of Mineralogy to Curator of Miner- alogy. Lectures Given The ancient beaches of Lake Chicago were studied last month by a group from the Chicago Academy of Sciences in a tour led by Harry Changnon, Geology Curator of Exhibits. Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., Curator of Fossil Invertebrates, spoke on "Paleo- zoic Fossils of the Chicago Area" at the Chicago Academy of Sciences during November. C. Earle Smith, Jr., Associate Curator of Vascular Plants, discussed plant cir- culation on the "Science in Motion" Educational Radio Series presented by Radio Station WBEZ (FM) last month. The program was later rebroadcasted by Radio Station WIND. Rainer J^angerl, Curator of Fossil Rep- tiles, lectured this fall before the Rock- well Literary Society, Rockwell Women's Club, on the Mecca project — a pioneer- ing undertaking in systematic research in which Dr. Zangerl plans to recon- struct exactly what existed in one Indi- ana county during a particular four-year period, 250 million years ago. The lec- ture was one in a series that has been scheduled by the women's club on the history of Parke County. Television Participation Maryl Andre of the Raymond Foun- dation will appear on Lee Phillip's "Friendship Show" (CBS-TV, Chan- nel 2, 8:30 a.m.) on Saturday, January 7 to present a special program on "animal tracks." The "Friendship Show" is a children's production that has enjoyed popularity for a number of years on CBS. F R O M HE Book Shop The Story oj Geology, by Jerome Wyckoff. Golden Press, New York. 177 pages. $4.95. The Story oj Geology is a stimulating de- parture from the treatment of elementary geology which has become more or less standard over the last twenty years. In the past, the approach to the subject has been largely paleontological and tended to emphasize the exotic and extraordi- nary in an effort to capture the imagina- tion of younger minds. One is often left with the impression that the greatest part of the earth's history is dominated by the "terrible lizards" of the Mesozoic. In this book the approach is strongly oriented toward physical geology, and deals with the day-to-day processes that have acted to form the earth over the past five billion years : the action of sur- face and ground waters, the action of ice and wind, the effects of changes in land elevation and sea level, volcanism, sedi- mentation, and the formation of meta- morphic rocks. In addition, the author covers the larger problems of the internal structure of the earth, the formation of continents, and the structure of ocean basins. In itself, this treatment is not unique, since it may be found in all texts of ele- mentary physical geology. However, in concise terms the author also presents the evidence upon which the conclusions are based. For example, he points out what earthquakes are, how they are de- tected, and how they are located. He diagrammatically shows the principle upon which a seismograph is built and what it measures. In writing such a book the author could easily have drawn from current textbooks. However, one finds almost startling references to geol- ogic processes and research results that are currently being discussed in ad- vanced texts and technical journals. As examples: he treats of chemical diffu- sion as a process in the formation of metamorphic rocks; he notes that granite may form metamorphically as well as by igneous activity; he discusses the evi- dence for continental drift and the mi- gration of the earth's poles; and most surprising of all, he discusses Project Mohole, the plan now being considered to drill 25 miles down to the beginning of the earth's mantle. It must be emphasized that this book is not a textbook of geology; it is what the title implies, a story of the geology of the earth. The book is profusely illus- trated with about 160 excellent color and black and white photographs and about 90 color drawings. Quarrying g: The Story oi Geology" Although written for the younger teen- age reader, this book is heartily recom- mended for the adult of any age who has ever been curious about the earth on which he lives. Edward J. Olsen Curator of Mineralogy PageS Chicago NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Qnthropology • • • • ©ofany 1 1 Ir 4- *^| JANUARY S M T W T F S I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 U IS 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Ice is a mineral, but it is seldom pure because of admixtures of various soluble salts. Its crystallization is hexagonal, and the crystals may be prismatic. In the form of snow, the crystals are often stellate or skeleton crystals, and some- times hollow prisms. The hardness of ice is about 1.5 and its specific gravity .9181. It is trans- parent and colorless except in large masses, when it appears bluish. By ap- plying various temperatures and pres- sures to water in the laboratory, ice with seven different crystalline modifications can be obtained, though only one is found in nature. Unlike most sub- stances, when ice crystallizes it expands in all directions — an important factor in the breaking up of rocks and moun- tains through weathering. © Each year during Febru- ary, the Hopi Indians of northern Arizona hold a Bean Dance ceremony, last- ing nine days. Its purpose is to prepare for the coming agricultural season by conse- crating the seeds, by sym- bolically protecting the fields against destructive forces such as sandstorms and in- sect pests, and by exorcising the coldest winds of winter. At the beginning of the cere- mony beans are planted in the underground ceremonial chambers by the clan chief. By keeping these rooms super-heated during the course of the celebration, the beans are forced to grow. An- M T W T F other main feature is the initiation of young boys into c k - | „ .{ ,f tflP rolicri/Mic; nrnJnif ■■ U.. « I * Mm .* a id gifts and the bean plants are distributed. All the names of the hepatica — liver- leaf; noble liver- wort — relate to the doc- trine of signatures of the old herbalists, which postulated that plants may pos- sess certain medicinal or occult properties that are revealed by the resemblance of the plant or a part of it to some organ or part of the human body. The three- lobed leaves of this early spring flower thus suggested the lobes of the liver. There is no evidence, however, that the plant has any therapeutic value or effect on this organ. Hepaticas grow in wood- lands from southern Ontario to Florida in the eastern half of the country. Lo- cally they bloom in April. Their white to purplish flowers stand singly on slen- der, hairy stems that rise from a clump of half-hidden, mottled green and red- dish-brown leaves. The Aztec solar calendar was com- posed of 18 months of 20 days and an unlucky five-day period at the end of the year. The month, Huei Tozozth, which fell at the end of April and the beginning of May in our calendar, was dedicated to Centeotl, the maize god; Chicomecoatl, goddess of maize; and to the worship of new corn. People drew blood from their ears as a sacrifice to the household gods, who were concerned in various ways with farming. The house altars were decked with new corn plants and offerings of food were made. A procession of young girls carried loads of seed corn to the temple of Chicome- coatl. After being blessed by the god- dess, the corn was then returned to the granaries. 26 27 28 S M T W T F S 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 MARCH Over much of the northeastern quarter of the United States, the swamp tree frog is the first ani- mal to announce the coming of spring. In the latitude of Chicago, around March 15, this little frog begins to call from every swampy meadow and clogged roadside ditch. Though snow and ice may interrupt its breeding choruses, this frog chirps a firm prom- ise of spring to people weary of the long winter. Calling and breeding continue until sometime in May, each female laying approximately 500 tiny eggs. The tadpoles hatch in a few days but re- quire about two months to develop into half-inch frogs. Then the young join the adults in feeding on small in- sects and spiders, storing up energy to carry them through hibernation and the next breeding season. © © JUNE I ii in no i JiPL 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 S I S M T W T F S 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 s m t w t f s Records kept for some one hundred yeai I £ j show that more meteorites fall in June than i; 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 any otner month. The reason is not knowni II 12 13 14 15 16 17 some have attributed it simply to the month' 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 favorable weather, which lures more observer 25 26 27 28 29 30 out-of-doors. It should be noted, however, tha June's high count drops to nearly half tha number in July, when the weather is equally pleasant. Until man-made capsules were recovered from outer space, meteorite provided our only tangible source of knowledge regarding the univen beyond us. Meteorites can be grouped into three classes: stone, iror stone, and iron, and so far as their structure and composition are cor cerned there can be little doubt that they are of igneous origin. Th most likely theory traces their source to some shattered planet oi planets; other suggested explanations of their origin, whether in cornet^ the rings of Saturn, or the Sun, have not proved entirely satisfactory m ■a 1 calendar for 1961 4 S II 12 18 19 25 26 TWTFS JULY I The yellow Nelumbo, or water chinquapin, an aqua- 6 7 8 tic plant of lakes, ponds, and quiet streams, opens its 13 14 IS four to ten-inch, pale yellow flowers in July. Its large 20 21 22 circular leaves curl and sway above the water, borne 27 28 29 on stout stems attached to the center of the under- surface of the leaf. Widely distributed east of the Mississippi, it is nonetheless rare in its range. In the Chicago area, Grass Lake in the Fox Lake region is famous for them. Indians roasted and ate lotus seeds **"* also the^ tuberous roots. The oriental lotus, or sacred bean, is like the American lotus except that its flowers are pink. It has figured extensively as a symbol in the art and religions of India and other Asiatic countries. The Egyptian lotus, a water lily belonging to a different genus, was also a symbol used in that country's art and religion. © The traditional birthstone for August is e mineral sardonyx. A form of chalcedony, hydrated silica, it has a transparent, deep ddish-brown color alternating with black { white bands. Its name is derived from irdis, the capital of the ancient kingdom Lydia in Asia Minor. Long used in the aking of intaglios and cameos, this orna- ental stone was also prized as a signet for arking wax seals, because, as Pliny states, 1 ,t signeth very faire without any of the wax icking to it." St. John refers to it as one of »e 12 gemstones in the walls of New Jerusa- m. And a traditional verse warns: Wear a sardonyx, or for thee No conjugal felicity! [o wonder that now, as in ancient times, good uality sardonyx is still sought after by gem utters! AUGUST S M T W T F S 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 910 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 One of the first signs of fall is the migration of the Monarch butterfly, n early September, during the peak of the flights, one can watch a ontinual stream of Monarchs as they move south along thelakefront, 5 to 30 feet above the ground. Those that pass through or leave from he Chicago area probably go on to the gulf states or northern Mexico. in route, large aggregations numbering nany thousands of butterflies may gather nd roost overnight on trees and shrubs, 'hey may be attracted to favorite trees ear after year. At least two annual roost- ig places have been known in Lincoln Park, n some localities the migrants overwinter l large inactive colonies. Some famous verwintering sites are protected by law. s m t w t f s I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 © SEPTEMBER Witch hazel trees, like old coquettes, sportively decorate their branches and twigs with yellow flowers when most plants of our climate have given up for the season and are settling down for the winter. Even as it is dropping its own yellow, wavy-edged leaves and popping its seeds from woody, two- beaked capsules started in growth a. year before, the witch hazel unrolls four curious, strap-like petals in each flower, and clusters the flowers in yel- low, tousled heads at points where leaves are or were attached to twigs. Forked branches of witch hazel have been used in rhabdomancy in the same manner as the European hazel and I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 OCTOBER barbered man is unfamiliar with aro- matic, astringent, witch hazel lotion. NOVEMBER S M T W T F S 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 i 27 28 29 30 This is the month of the water- fowl, the ducks and geese that seem almost reluctant to leave until the first freeze locks the small lakes and ponds and drives them south. Stand outside on a raw November morning with low flying clouds and snow squalls in the air, and first you will hear a faint, wild honking, and soon you will see the ragged V's of the Canada geese driving south before the wind. As they pass by they will be joined by earlier migrants who remained with us for a while. But this is not the end of our waterfowl, ■^B for already the winter ducks are on \^J Lake Michigan, and when the north- easterly winds blow, golden-eyes, old-squaws and mergansers will take shelter in our harbors, where even the city dwellers can enjoy them. DECEMBER The Temple of Heaven is part of D F f"* F Ai a ceremonial complex formerly de- l/LV. L IV voted to the observation of the win- - - . ter solstice by the Chinese emper- ors at Peking. At the turn of the sun each December the Emperor, repre- senting his people before Heaven, was the chief figure in a severely formal ritual. Following two days of fasting, the Emperor proceeded A to the Temple of Heaven to make .% obeisance to Heaven and the im- % perial ancestors. After a final night of spiritual preparation in the Hall ;# of Abstinence, the Emperor moved at dawn to the Altar of Heaven, a low, circular, three-tiered struc- ture of white marble, oriented to conform with the cardinal directions. In the exact center of this large and elegant structure, the Emperor fulfilled his re- ligious and ceremonial obligations to Heaven, thus assuring the continued welfare of the State. I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 I«V OJ.-i AMO TitNJ of the MUSEUM'S NEWEST EXHIBIT By EMMET R. BLAKE, Curator of Birds A new bird exhibit recently installed in Hall 21 treats in synoptic form all 16 families of the avian order Charadrii- formes, a cosmopolitan group containing some 300 species. Most of these are shorebirds — plovers, sandpipers, and similar families of long-legged waders — but the order also includes many other birds of distinctive appearance and un- usual habits, such as skimmers, gulls and terns, sheathbills, auks, and others. About fifty species, representing five of the families featured in the new ex- hibit, have been reported from the Chi- cago region. The majority of these pause in the area only briefly in spring and fall while traveling between their summer and winter homes. Most shorebirds have Page 6 remarkable powers of flight and some regularly migrate thousands of miles. Typical of many is the eastern golden plover, which nests in Arctic Canada and spends the winter in southern South America. Its migratory route is most unusual : the autumn flight is mainly over the Atlantic ocean, but the return trip is by way of Central America and the Mississippi Valley. The migratory pattern of a western variety of golden plover is equally noteworthy : after breeding in western Alaska, it flies 2000 miles or more across the open Pacific to winter in Hawaii, southern Asia, or even Australia. Diversity of habits is a prominent at- tribute of the shorebird assemblage. Phalaropes are unusual in that the fe- male is brightly colored and courts the male, who builds the nest and raises the young. Among painted-snipe, also, the female is dominant during courtship; she even has several extra loops in her windpipe which produce deep, booming sounds. The crab-plover, unlike any of its relatives, nests in a burrow deep within the sand and lays unmarked white eggs. Avocets, surely the most graceful of all shorebirds, feed by immersing their thin, recurved bills in the water, and then walk about sweeping the bill from side to side. The thick-knees are nocturnal and prefer grassy or arid regions to the water-side habitats favored by most shorebirds. The sandpiper tribe is closely related to plovers but forms a separate family of about 80 species. They are found prin- cipally in open country near water, but a few species, such as snipe and wood- cock, prefer marshes or moist wood- lands. The plumage is usually gray or brown above and the underparts white, barred, or spotted. Although much like plovers in habits, sandpipers are more diversified in size (5-24 inches) and es- pecially in the shape of the bill, which may be moderately or extremely long, and straight, decurved, or recurved. One of the largest members of this family is the long-billed curlew, which measures almost two feet in length and is distinguished by its very long, down- curved bill. A smaller relative, the Es- kimo curlew, was formerly very abun- dant but has become virtually, if not totally, extinct within recent decades. Unique among its fellows is the dimin- utive spoon-billed sandpiper of eastern Asia. Although superficially resembling other small sandpipers, its bill has a conspicuously flattened, spoon-like tip. The ruff, a common Eurasian sand- piper, is especially noteworthy for its remarkable courtship performance. In spring conspicuous erectile featherruffs and facial warts are grown by the males, who posture and fence at ancestral court- ship areas for hours, competing for the assembled females, or "reeves." Perhaps most extraordinary of all is the fact that at other times the sexes remain apart, and even in winter live in sep- arate flocks. Several groups of birds related to, but in appearance quite unlike, sandpipers and their kind are sometimes called "shorebirds" as a matter of convenience. Perhaps the strangest of all is the skim- mer, a tropical tern-like bird with a blade-shaped bill. In feeding, skimmers plow the water's surface with their pro- truding lower mandible, catching small fish and Crustacea. Skimmers breed in colonies on sand beaches and are often active at night. Ocean shores and large rivers and lakes are their habitat. Skuas and jaegers resemble gulls, but are even more aggressive and predatory. They often rob other birds of food and harass their nesting colonies. The four species of this family mainly inhabit oceans and coasts of colder latitudes, but several migrate between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Gulls and terns are more cosmopolitan in distribu- tion, but nevertheless seldom venture great distances from land. Most of the 82 species prefer seashores and lakes or rivers, but some inhabit prairie marshes. Typically the plumage is gray and white, though many gulls have black wing-tips and most terns are black-capped. Gulls are essentially scavengers and have rel- atively heavy bills; terns have sharply pointed bills and usually dive for their food. The auk family, which includes dove- kies, murres, guillemots and puffins, is confined to the Northern Hemisphere Above: Long-billed Curlew Left: Pheasant-tailed Jacana Left: Black Skimmer Below: Horned Puffin where the various species nest in enor- mous colonies on rocky cliffs or islands. Puffins, comical creatures with out-sized bills, are the only auks that make nests. These are placed, safe from predators, at the ends of burrows. Most auks nest on narrow ledges and lay eggs that are pointed at one end and thus roll in small circles if jostled. Auks winter in the open sea and approach land only during the breeding season. Perhaps the most fa- mous species is the great auk, a large, flightless bird that was exterminated by Icelandic fishermen in 1844. Page' 7 FEATURED EXHIBIT for January Chinese CALENDAR SCREEN By Kenneth Starr, Curator Asiatic Archaeology and Ethnology Pictured on our cover is what Western visitors to China call a "cal- endar screen," so named because the floral motifs domi- nating the twelve panels of the screen represent the twelve months of the year. Although not so common as the rep- resentations of the four seasons so fre- quently seen in Chinese art, these calendar screens traditionally have been prized as decorative pieces. The speci- men illustrated is remarkable because the decorative elements on the face of the screen are formed from thin strips of wood upon which are glued bits of the brilliant blue plumage of the kingfisher. Made very likely either in Soochou or in Yangchou in Kiangsu Province, and Page 8 dating probably from the nineteenth century, the screen was acquired for the Museum in China by Dr. Berthold Lau- fer in the course of the Blackstone Ex- pedition, 1908-1910. Measuring nearly eight and one-half feet in length by slightly more than three and one-half feet in height, the screen consists of a twelve-sectioned frame of "blackwood," into which are set twelve decorated wooden panels. The backs of the panels are admirable in their own right, for they are lacquered in dull red flecked with gold, but it is the front faces of the panels that command attention, for they bear flamboyantly decorative motifs outlined against fine black velvet. The panels are divided by the construc- tion of the wooden frame into three groups of designs : the upper groups por- tray various traditional objects symbolic of Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk lore; the large central motifs show some flower or plant; and the lower design areas depict ceramic and bronze pieces, most of them containing floral sprays. It is the brilliant central floral designs dominating the front face of the screen that are associated with the months, and so give the screen its name. Just as in the United States we associate particular flowers and plants with certain holidays or seasons of the year — tulips with spring, roses with summer, chrysanthemums with autumn, and poinsettias with Christmas and winter — so also the Chinese associ- ate various flowers and plants with the flow of the seasons — the plum with spring, the orchid or lotus with summer, the chrysanthemum with fall, and the bam- boo or peony with winter. Looking at the screen from right to left, in Chinese fashion, we see that the flowers or plants represented are as fol- lows: 1st month, plum, the "prunus" so common in Chinese and Japanese art; 2nd month, weeping willow and ch'a- mei flower; 3rd month, magnolia; 4th month, peach; 5th month, the herba- ceous peony; 6th month, poppy; 7th month, lotus, symbolic not only of sum- mer, but also of Buddhism, particularly, and Taoism; 8th month, grape; 9th month, rose; 10th month, chrysanthe- mum, one of the oldest cultivated flow- ers in China and generally accepted as the symbol of autumn; 11th month, bam- boo; and 12th month, the tree peony, which, like the plum, lends itself to in- door cultivation and so becomes a sym- bol of winter. The dominant color in these floral mo- tifs is the bright natural blue of the king- fisher's feathers, with pink being next most prominent, and with tinges of such other colors as canary yellow, Chinese red, purple, and several shades of brown. The choice of flowers and their arrange- ment is arbitrary on the part of the ar- tisan. Such objects as this screen, it must be emphasized, cannot be judged as botan- ically accurate. Neither should they be considered as fine art. Rather, such pieces must be recognized for what they represent, namely, the decorative, but overrefined work for which one class of Chinese artisanship is renowned. Seen so, our screen deserves some praise for the ingenuity, skill, and patience in- volved in its making. The screen is exhibited in the Chinese gallery (Hall 24), at the north end of the second floor, near the east stairway. PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS ,HICAG07J> A NATURAl/Ji/// HISTORY